Industry News

Twickenham lands esports events under FACEIT’s London vision

Esports organisation FACEIT has announced that it will centralise its FACEIT Minors series of events for the first time, with London’s Twickenham Stadium set to play host.

The English capital will now be the hub for this year’s campaign, with Wembley Arena having already been confirmed as the venues for the FACEIT London Major in September.

Commencing from July 7, each region will compete live at Twickenham, the home of English rugby union, for a place in the FACEIT London Major Challenger Stage. The entirety of the 13th CS:GO Major will be held in London, making this the largest and most prestigious esports tournament to be held in the UK to date.

FACEIT said that the initiative marks the first time a single esports organisation has hosted the entirety of a CS:GO Major and in one location. By bringing cohesion to the Major FACEIT said it hopes to solve a number of “pain points” felt by teams in past tournaments.

New teams qualifying for the first time will benefit from the opportunity to learn from teams from different regions as FACEIT brings teams from each region together for the first time. Having all Minors take place in London and more time between online qualifiers and Minors will also seek to ensure no team that gets to the Minor will face visa issues for the Major itself.

FACEIT said Twickenham will offer 24-hour practice rooms for the events, along with two separate stages to ensure no time is lost for setup, a gym and executive chef.

“By hosting each stage of the tournament at Twickenham Stadium we’re hoping to bring new life to the Minors,” Michele Attisani, co-founder and chief business officer of FACEIT, said. “The Major should be a celebration of all things CS:GO, we want to bring teams together for the first time and make sure teams of all levels feel welcome and feel the Major experience.”

The FACEIT Minors will begin with the Americas (North and South American regions) competing from July 7-11.

Image: David Roberts